The cephalosporin class of antibiotics has been extensively studied, and several members of the class are now routinely used to combat bacterial diseases caused by a broad spectrum of gram positive and gram negative microorganisms. The majority of such compounds are not effective orally, but rather are administered intramuscularly or intravenously, thus necessitating assistance from medically trained personnel. Moreover, since the compounds are effective against a broad spectrum of microorganisms, they generally are not employed for their specificity.
There remains a need for cephalosporin antibiotics that are orally effective and have a degree of specificity toward one or more groups of microorganisms. An object of this invention is to provide a group of compounds that satisfies these needs.